Best way to keep leaves out of the pond?

[Ray G]

Thanks for that information. I didn't know that about the decaying process.....good to know!

I always have my air stone running, but as I said, those koi I lost were quite large. Massive in fact. So there very well could have been a decrease in oxygen.
I now have two air stones running and my net has been up for a while. I had it up before the leaves began to fall.

So, to the poster that was hesitant on installing a net....maybe you should rethink that idea.

All the years I've had nets on my pond, I've only had to rescue one songbird. Maybe keep a few birdbaths around your pond to help the birds out. Hopefully the birdbaths will thaw out once in a while with some direct sunlight.

Biggest fish have the greatest oxygen demand and often suffer first when O2 levels are low

 

[poconojoe]

Good information again concerning oxygen. I turn my waterfall off for the winter. I don't want to chance water pouring onto the ice and out of the pond.
Yes, those big koi were butterflies 10+ years old and well fed, so they were quite big. One was completely orange with gorgeous flowing fins. The other, one of my favorites, had a very cool color pattern. It was black and orange with black around it's eyes. My daughter called it the devil fish.

 

[Ray G]

Always sad when fish die. Some lessons learnt is always good though for the future.

 

[barryian]

Got a small to medium sized lined pond and the previous owner of my house planted a lilac tree behind the pond which overhangs it. It looks lovely and we don’t want to take it out but obviously the leaves drop straight into the pond at this time of year.

Should we fashion some sort of raised netting over the pond to catch them? Is that the most efficient way to do it? The frogs and birds both use the pond so can’t block that access but also don’t want it to look too terrible as it’s part of the view from our lounge. Thanks.

Been doing this for many many years! Currently I use a cross bar also. Takes the snow and leave free.

 

[Gandalf]

Got a small to medium sized lined pond and the previous owner of my house planted a lilac tree behind the pond which overhangs it. It looks lovely and we don’t want to take it out but obviously the leaves drop straight into the pond at this time of year.

Should we fashion some sort of raised netting over the pond to catch them? Is that the most efficient way to do it? The frogs and birds both use the pond so can’t block that access but also don’t want it to look too terrible as it’s part of the view from our lounge. Thanks.

When I put my net over the pond one year it's black and barely visible, the frog jumped and started bouncing off the net like a trampoline. Pretty funny actually. he took off for friendlier environs.

 

[poconojoe]

My net setup (in post #21) has been known to collapse a bit when it gets covered with heavy snow, but it always bounces back up when the snow goes away!
Next time I will use 1" pvc instead of 3/4".

I see member Barryian has pretty much the same setup.

 

[Vita Powlsion]

Hello there,
I have an 8,000 gallon pond with two skimmers.
I also have two wisterias covering my patio. They are dropping leaves and wind blowing like crazy.
I simply turned up the two skimmers on pond. They should be emptied daily but dont always get to it.
This also creates the problem of the fish food getting sucked up quickly and Im always finding small babies ( fish ) caught in skimmer also . Knowing babies are most likely in the skimmers urges me to check it and empty it more so all is good but seems one solution always creates another problem. Good Luck

 

[bggenie]

I don't like netting, birds get caught in it and sometimes if it lays on top of water fish get stuck, I have a pond cover built by my carpenter. Its a wood frame that sits a foot above the pond and is covered in hexagonal chicken wire. I have 12 150' oak trees, it works great.

 

[DbitMichigan]

I don't like netting, birds get caught in it and sometimes if it lays on top of water fish get stuck, I have a pond cover built by my carpenter. Its a wood frame that sits a foot above the pond and is covered in hexagonal chicken wire. I have 12 150' oak trees, it works great.

Do you have any pics? I’m trying to visualize this!

 

[bggenie]

I'm attaching a photo of my custom built small pond leaf wood & chicken wire

cover. I add the black garbage bag to the top in the spring so the strong sun won't turn the water green until the canopy of leaves goes back on the trees. One pic is it on its end for summer storage. I use a black metal mail box to hold a small net and fish food.

 

[DbitMichigan]

Thank you, that looks pretty snazzy and gives us a few ideas. We appreciate it!

I'm attaching a photo of my custom built small pond leaf wood & chicken wire View attachment 142631View attachment 142632View attachment 142633

cover. I add the black garbage bag to the top in the spring so the strong sun won't turn the water green until the canopy of leaves goes back on the trees. One pic is it on its end for summer storage. I use a black metal mail box to hold a small net and fish food.

 

[barryian]

My net setup (in post #21) has been known to collapse a bit when it gets covered with heavy snow, but it always bounces back up when the snow goes away!
Next time I will use 1" pvc instead of 3/4".

I see member Barryian has pretty much the same setup.

This is an old post but, mine would collapse in the snow and pop back up. Now I have a horizontal piece of pvc across the top. It goes down the sides and is staked like the rest of them. I also use heavy duty tie wraps where the horizontal pvc meets the vertical ones. It holds the snow and doesn't cave in from the snow anymore. The attached diagram is what I use each year as the ends of the poles are labeled too which makes it a 45 minute job putting the framework up.

 

[Corgi Mom]

I personally do not like large mesh nets that cover the pond because they always trap frogs and birds. So I am diligent about scooping them out with my handheld skimmers. And if you have a skimmer box absolutely sweep them into it. That helps alot. Even if I cut down all my trees which of course I wouldn’t, I get my neighbors’ leaves. There are plenty of tall trees around here and once the wind blows they go under the net, over the net and everywhere. It’s just a problem you have to deal with.